(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a warning light device having a first warning lamp exhibiting at least one first light unit comprising at least one first lighting element for visually indicating at least one operating state, especially several different operating states, of a first technical unit such as a machine, a plant, a vehicle or the like, and having at least one second corresponding warning lamp.
(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 C.F.R. 1.97 And 1.98
From DE 19 513 983 A1 of the applicant, for example, a signaling column having a number of alternating modules is already known, a bayonet locking arrangement being provided for mechanically and electrically connecting the individual alternating modules with one another. In this arrangement, the electrical contacting is already realized with the assembly of the alternating modules.
In general, such alternating modules have different colors within a signaling column. The color combination of traffic lights is frequently selected where, for example, the color green stands for faultless operation, the color red stands for danger or for a shutdown of the machine, etc.
Each alternating module has an incandescent lamp or one or several light-emitting diodes which are already colored correspondingly or which generate white light and the correspondingly colored [ ]culotte specifies the desired luminous color of the alternating module.
In practice it has been found that the operating state of the technical unit to be monitored can be of interest not only to the operating person on site but possibly also to the foreman or to a leading person or to an operating person who is not always on site at the technical unit. Correspondingly, corresponding alternating modules or signaling columns which convey the operating states of the technical unit or the operating state of the warning lamp, for example by means of a corresponding SMS or the like, via a wireless communication, e.g. to a mobile of the operating person, are already known, for example, from printed documents DE 100 58 695 or DE 10 2004 0123 09 A1.
Although such remote monitoring of the warning light column has improved the practical operation or the monitoring of the technical unit, respectively, it has also been found that this is possible only to a limited extent especially in large workshops having a number of or numerous technical machines to be monitored and having corresponding signaling columns, or the ability of allocating the indicated operating states is impaired. However, since it is frequently a matter of safety-related monitoring functions which must be fulfilled by the signaling columns or the warning lamps, this represents a considerable safety risk in the monitoring of several technical units or warning lamps. Thus, a network having a number of machines which in each case have a signaling column is already known from DE 101 24 132 A1, the signaling columns being linked into the network via the common transmission path of the machines. By this means, the operating states of the signaling columns can be indicated centrally by means of a computer or screen.
The disadvantageous factor in this arrangement is, however, that the network consisting of production machines, signaling columns and screens must have a uniform control or communication system. In practice, however, apart from machines networked together, there are frequently also individual machines and/or machines or groups of machines having different incompatible bus systems. In relatively large plants with a long history in some cases, especially, machines from different decades or generations are used. In some cases, these cannot be networked together in order to be able to implement, for example, central monitoring of the operating states, or can be networked together only with considerable technical or electronic complexity, in order to be able to implement, for example, central monitoring of the operating states of the machines according to DE 101 24 132 A1.